entists say they can determine how much polluted air shortens life expectancy.

Researchers in the United States have weighed up dirty air with other factors such as health services and exercise. Dzerzinsk, RussiaDzerzinsk has a population of 300,000, and they are all at risk from Cold War-type chemical weapons manufacture, storage and bad disposal that amount to a ton of chemical wastes for each Dzerzinsk citizen. Toxic chemicals in ground water have contributed to a death rate 2.6 times the birth rate. It is clearly not a good place to love or die.

Although it has been 20 years since the nuclear melt down, Chernobyl (as seen in the picture here), is one of the top-ten. Still, most of the most-polluted places are little-known, even in their own countries. Most of the people affected are exceedingly poor.

Russia leads the list of eight nations, having itself three of the 10 worst polluted sites. Other sites were chosen because they served as examples for problems found all around the globe. Haina, Dominican Republic has severe lead contamination as the result of battery recycling - a problem common throughout poorer countries. Linfen, China exemplifies many Chinese cities choking on their industrial air pollution. India is represented by a nasty example of serious groundwater pollution by heavy metals.